University:
California State University, Northridge
Course:
COMP 100 | Computers: Their Impact and Use
Academic year:

2024
Views:

244

Pages:

19
Author:

Clark Morrison

         What is Internet? Why do people use the Internet? Why do people want to censor the Internet? Why do people oppose Internet censorship? What do people think about Censorship? Is Internet censorship possible? Why is Internet Censorship hard? Impact of Internet Conclusion  Also known as "the Net," is a worldwide system of computer networks.  It is a network of networks in which users at any one computer can, if they have permission, get information from any other computer. September 2000: February 2008: 380 million online users 1,320 million online users         Friends / Dating News Shopping Directions Research / Study Games Leisure Escape from the reality (Freedom) I ■ Coo Irias pu ·n obstacles lo lh · ti e ·flaw ,of imDlilll • on In "Blackhcies" •  Internet Piracy Free distribution(Mp3, DivX, Games) Company profit loss. Identity theft. Hacking into secret Information. Duplication of information / Plagiarizing . Viruses. According to “State of the Net consumer report published in September 2006, damages from viruses totaled $5.2 billion.  Spyware caused nearly a million people to replace their PCs.          Religious / Political Issues (China, Germany). Child Pornography. Too much freedom.  Violates freedom of speech rights of the 1st Amendment of U.S. Constitution.  Internet is still in its early ages and deserves to be given a chance to prove itself.  Laws of one country can’t hold jurisdiction in another because it has no borders - This means that domestic laws cannot rule over foreign laws. It is good how it is, restriction of the internet will only reduce freedom.  Georgia Institute of Technology’s College of Computing surveyed people online  Internet is immense - Tracking down criminals is an extremely hard task.  Internet is anonymous - Difficult to determine the identity & age of user.  Internet has no physical boundaries – Hard to tell when a law is broken.  Once any information is posted online, deleting this material becomes almost impossible.  Duplication of information.  Spam mail.  Anti-Spam and Popup blockers are inefficient.  Government would have to monitor: ▪ E-mail ▪ News ▪ Forum/website ▪ IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channels ▪ Database linked to a server ▪ FTP (File Transfer Protocol) sites  Costly and time consuming.  Tracking every move of every individual in this world is almost impossible.  Internet has attracted people in the Entertainment, Marketing & Business fields.  Piracy plays a huge role in the impact of the Internet (Hackers, Crackers, Phreakers).  Free distribution of games, applications, movies, and mp3 damaged software, film, and music industry.  Internet “Underground” sparked possible Internet censorship ideologies.  In October 1998, United States passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that made software cracking and distributing illegal.  In May 22, 2001, Europe passed the European Union Copyright Directive (EUCD).  Distribution of illegal software still remains, eliminating piracy would be as hard as tracking down every single computer in this world.          Internet is too complex of a network for censorship to effectively occur. It is a fairly new and unique environment and requires more investigation / experience. Violates the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Lack of physical boundaries causes confusion as to where violations occur. Future law enforcements on Internet censorship will decrease freedom and there will always be opposition. The Internet is anonymous, and if lied, can’t be proved wrong. Information hiding is risky due to hackers and copies can be made with no effort. Thus complete efficient Internet censorship will be impossible. Every country should allow their users to have freedom online.  According to “State of the Net” published in September 2006, damages from viruses totaled $5.2 billion for consumers  Spyware prompted nearly a million people to replace their PCs.  ADVANTAGES:  More social interaction.  Students read more books.  Healthier (No Radioactivity / Back Pains). • DISADVANTAGES:  Slow access to information.  Inconvenient.  Reduced entertainment.  • ADVANTAGES:  Quick and easy access of information.  Entertainment increase.  Online shopping.  Technology advancements. DISADVANTAGES:  Piracy (Hackers, Crackers, Phreakers, etc.).  Less social society.  Unhealthy.  Information and Identity theft.  1971 – Email  1972 – Telnet (Remote Connection to Computers)  1973 – FTP (File Transfer Protocol)  1974 – Ethernet (Local Network Protocol)     During the cold war of 1969, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the U.S. government designed ARPANET. ARPANET was a top secret military medium of communication to send information in case of emergency such as nuclear attacks. The first data exchange over this new network occurred between computers at UCLA and Stanford. Only used by government personal and professionals, the need for censorship never crossed anyone’s mind. In contrast to today’s Internet, the network was considered extremely safe because it was a top secret project.   The adoption of the internet has outpaced any other electronics ever designed. The adoption of the following by 50 million people took:  Radio (38 years)  TV (13 years)  PC (16 years)  Internet (4 years)